March 25, 2006 Saturday Session Map

Sea World to La Jolla & Back!!!

I did it!!!

I ran from Sea World to La Jolla and back!!!

I ran 12 miles!!!

So, yes. I am just a little excited here. I don't think what I have accomplished today has truly sunk in yet. The enormity of it just overwhelms me. Not only did I run from Sea World to La Jolla and back, but I did it in 8/1 sets!! (8min running /1 minute walking) I am soooo stoked!

I don't know why but last night the number 12 just suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. I had trouble sleeping because I was so nervous. (Ethan didn't help any either- as usual.) Then as I drove to the session today I was total bundle of tense nerves at the thought of what I was about to attempt. Never mind that this was less than half the length of the marathon. THIS WAS 12 MILES!!! How could I possibly run that far??? It just didn't seem possible.

Shortly after starting the run two things occured. First, I developed an immediate cramp in my right side. Great. Then, someone mentioned how much hotter it was than during previous sessions and I realized I'd forgotten to actually put on the sunscreen sitting in my car. Too late. Had to keep going.

I managed to stay with my regular group until just before the aid station at the turn around point and by then the cramp in my side had disappeared. But I swear someone replaced my legs with sandbags at that stop! Boy was it hard to get moving again after just a 1 minute break! It's amazing how quickly muscles can tighten up on you!

So at that point I did fall about 500yds behind the people I can usually keep up with. At first I was resigned to running alone, but then someone caught with me (or did I catch up with them??) and we ended up finishing the second half together. We got to talking and it really is true that when you're talking time goes faster! There were a couple of times when we actually ran 30seconds to a minute longer than we were supposed to.

So I was doing pretty good until I ran out of gatorade about 1 1/2miles away from the end. By about 3/4 miles from the end I started to feel nauseas. So at that point I did break the 8/1 set and take extra walking time. My partner was also feeling ill, however, so she stopped to walk with me. We walked for about two minutes, started to feel better, and got back into completing the 8/1 set.

The second we got back to the meeting point I made a beeline for the Large thermoses of gaterade and water. I also snagged myself a bagel. After some cool down walking, food, and drink, I really started to feel better, but WOW was I tired. So I did the smart thing and took time to relax and stretch fully before driving anywhere.

I had to feed Ethan when I got home, but then I took a nice long hot shower with our massaging shower head. I have never appreciated it so much! When I got out I got our electric handheld massager and ran it over my legs and back just to get most of the kinks out. By the time I was done, I felt MUCH better.

My only lingering aches are in my knees. Unfortunately it making it VERY difficult to walk, step over things, attempt stairs, even stand for any period of time. They are very stiff. It's as if they're informing me that I have exceeded my quota of movement for that 24hr period and they are now out of order. ;-D I'm hoping they'll be better after a good night's sleep. If not, does anyone know where I can rent a walker???

You have no idea how strange that run was for me. Aside from the length, the location made it that much more bizarre. As a nanny for the twins, I took Lindsey and Nicole to Sea World regularly. And when they were old enough, I took them to a school in La Jolla. Well, while running today I realized something. ..... I had run PAST where I used to drop them off for school!!! I couldn't believe I was recognizing the landmarks I'd used to DRIVE past so regularly! How in the world did I run that far???

This run has been so significant for me, I intend to post the map for it in my next post so that you can see for yourself how long it was.

Thursday, March 23

So yesterday, Thursday, I ran/walked 6 miles! Still doing the 6min run/ 1min walk sets. I love my new watch that helps me time the intervals. The 6 miles actually weren't all that bad, especially the first 3 when I had a companion to talk to. Officially I only needed to run 3 to 4 miles that day, but since I'd missed last Saturday's 10mile run session (fundraiser remember?) I decided to do a little extra running. Not too much, however, for I have learned that I will be going............. TWELVE MILES!!!! on Saturday!
Lord please give me strength! I hope that everyone will be praying for me! I can't imagine that I am actually going to so this! How did I get myself into this??!! TWELVE MILES!!! That's FOREVER!

(P.S. DO NOT reply to me that it's less than half the marathon length- I will close my eyes and sing "I can't hear you!")

The Photo Contest

My bad

Wow! I really blew it for posting here lately. I've been busy as always, but that's no excuse. I should have made the time. For that I apologize.

As for my running, I've been unable to run for a while because of my infected toe. However I have been crosstraining with a stationary bike to try to compensate.

Last Friday, I finally got in to the doctor and received an antibiotic & referral to a podiatrist. The pain has already decreased thanks to the antibiotic, so I hope to start running again tomorrow.

The really awesome news is that despite the forecast, not one drop of rain fell on our photo contest fundraiser and we managed raise over $200! I am now more than $400 above my original goal! Praise the Lord! And thank you to everyone who continues to support me!